Optical Zoom / Megapixels / Size - ???

land_shark3 · Post by **land_shark3** » May 25, 2005 10:34 am

Ok, so I've read through most of the other digital camera threads and I'm on the verge of finally biting the bullet and buying one. I've narrowed down the selection to three basic categories; Optical Zoom, MP, and Size. Until the SLRs drop way down in price, they are still in a dream world.

So for those of you that use digital cameras on a frequent basis, what do you value to be the most important feature? Do you want want that has great optical zoom (10x), high MP (6 or 7), or one that easily fits in your pocket?

The majority of use its going to see out of me is gatherings and photo albums. I would love to take more pictures than I currently am, but I need the equipment to make it worth my time and effort.

rednekkPH · Post by **rednekkPH** » May 25, 2005 10:38 am

Definitely optical zoom for me. In fact, on Monday, I just bought an Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom (4 MP, 10x optical zoom). Found it for $265 on circuitcity.com. Haven't even had it out of the box yet - I'll give a report when I get more familiar with it.

PHBeerman · Post by **PHBeerman** » May 25, 2005 10:39 am

Compact size was a big one for me with my last one. It all depends on what you want the camera for.

SchoolGirlHeart · Post by **SchoolGirlHeart** » May 25, 2005 10:41 am

hmmm..... if you're going to be shooting mostly gatherings, zoom isn't that big a deal; almost anything will do. If it will be more landscapes, distance photos, etc, zoom becomes more important. I seriously miss my Olympus 10X optical zoom (the Olympus died...), because I shoot a lot outdoors.

Megapixels... again, depends what you're going to do with it.... 4x6's, 8x10's... doesn't matter all that much. Shoot on high resolution and you'll be fine. My old 2.1 mp did fine for non-professional, personal shots. My current 3.(something) is also enough.

Size... Size matters....

With my older camera, I left it behind a lot. Too big. I now have a small Canon that fits in a fanny pack, and I tend to take it along a lot more.

Consider this, too. Batteries. If you buy a camera with proprietary rechargables, and they die, you're screwed. Consider one what will take 4 AA's in a pinch.

SchoolGirlHeart · Post by **SchoolGirlHeart** » May 25, 2005 10:42 am

rednekkPH wrote:Definitely optical zoom for me. In fact, on Monday, I just bought an Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom (4 MP, 10x optical zoom). Found it for $265 on circuitcity.com. Haven't even had it out of the box yet - I'll give a report when I get more familiar with it.

DAMN, I WANT ONE OF THOSE!!! I loved my C-700.....

rednekkPH · Post by **rednekkPH** » May 25, 2005 10:45 am

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:
rednekkPH wrote:Definitely optical zoom for me. In fact, on Monday, I just bought an Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom (4 MP, 10x optical zoom). Found it for $265 on circuitcity.com. Haven't even had it out of the box yet - I'll give a report when I get more familiar with it.
DAMN, I WANT ONE OF THOSE!!! I loved my C-700.....

Well, act fast - they just released the 770 Ultra Zoom, and the leftover 765s are going cheap. Like I said, $265 on CC's website.

NYCPORT · Post by **NYCPORT** » May 25, 2005 10:49 am

Splurge!!! Get one of the SLR's. They're awsome.

land_shark3 · Post by **land_shark3** » May 25, 2005 10:50 am

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:Consider this, too. Batteries. If you buy a camera with proprietary rechargables, and they die, you're screwed. Consider one what will take 4 AA's in a pinch.

GOOD POINT!!! I hadn't even thought about that; even though it seems like I'm always buying batteries for my fiance's camera (or so she says

)

AlbatrossFlyer · Post by **AlbatrossFlyer** » May 25, 2005 10:50 am

you'll take alot more pics if you have a camera that fits in your back pocket. all my pics that i post were taken with my ancient canon s200 2 mpixel 3x optical zoom camera.

for the typical pocket camera shot i wouldn't bother getting more than 4 maybe 5 mpixels. save your money and put it towards a bigger memory chip or a 2nd battery.

SchoolGirlHeart · Post by **SchoolGirlHeart** » May 25, 2005 10:51 am

rednekkPH wrote:
SchoolGirlHeart wrote:
rednekkPH wrote:Definitely optical zoom for me. In fact, on Monday, I just bought an Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom (4 MP, 10x optical zoom). Found it for $265 on circuitcity.com. Haven't even had it out of the box yet - I'll give a report when I get more familiar with it.
DAMN, I WANT ONE OF THOSE!!! I loved my C-700.....
Well, act fast - they just released the 770 Ultra Zoom, and the leftover 765s are going cheap. Like I said, $265 on CC's website.

Hmmmm... but I think if I remember correctly, you can't use AA batteries in the 765.

That's a big requirement with me.....

I've heard that camera makers are getting back to being able to use standard batteries, but haven't seen it yet....

balcony girls · Post by **balcony girls** » May 25, 2005 10:52 am

rednekkPH wrote:Definitely optical zoom for me. In fact, on Monday, I just bought an Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom (4 MP, 10x optical zoom). Found it for $265 on circuitcity.com. Haven't even had it out of the box yet - I'll give a report when I get more familiar with it.

got that same, exact camera . . and I love it . .

land_shark3 · Post by **land_shark3** » May 25, 2005 10:56 am

NYCPORT wrote:Splurge!!! Get one of the SLR's. They're awsome.

I'm sure they are. However, they are about twice my budget BEFORE adding on the accessories.

AlbatrossFlyer · Post by **AlbatrossFlyer** » May 25, 2005 10:56 am

forget about AA batteries in the future. cameras are trending smaller, and AA's don't offer the power density needed to run the newer electronics and higher mpixels in todya's cameras. i just spent all of $25 to buy a second Li-ion battery for my canon. the original is still going strong, but it's definitely long in the tooth, and i didn't know how often i'd be able to recharge it on the sailboat.

land_shark3 · Post by **land_shark3** » May 25, 2005 11:10 am

AlbatrossFlyer wrote:you'll take alot more pics if you have a camera that fits in your back pocket.

Very true...
In my "small" category were cameras like the Nikon Coolpix and Canon SD400.

Nikon

Canon

rednekkPH · Post by **rednekkPH** » May 25, 2005 11:26 am

SchoolGirlHeart wrote: Hmmmm... but I think if I remember correctly, you can't use AA batteries in the 765. That's a big requirement with me.....

You're right, you can't use AA batteries. However, I just picked up a 2 extra battery packs on Ebay for $12, including shipping. That gives me a total of 525 shots without needing to do any recharging.

AlbatrossFlyer · Post by **AlbatrossFlyer** » May 25, 2005 11:51 am

the SD400 is on my new camera list along with the D20

land_shark3 · Post by **land_shark3** » May 25, 2005 12:13 pm

I hate making these decisions.

AlbatrossFlyer · Post by **AlbatrossFlyer** » May 25, 2005 12:20 pm

land_shark3 wrote:I hate making these decisions.

then just go buy the sd400 and you won't be sorry

SchoolGirlHeart · Post by **SchoolGirlHeart** » May 25, 2005 12:27 pm

rednekkPH wrote:
SchoolGirlHeart wrote: Hmmmm... but I think if I remember correctly, you can't use AA batteries in the 765. That's a big requirement with me.....
You're right, you can't use AA batteries. However, I just picked up a 2 extra battery packs on Ebay for $12, including shipping. That gives me a total of 525 shots without needing to do any recharging.

not bad, costwise!

but on a day when the waves are running high in Hawaii, I've shot over 700 pics and bunch of video clips.....

land_shark3 · Post by **land_shark3** » May 25, 2005 12:30 pm

AlbatrossFlyer wrote:
land_shark3 wrote:I hate making these decisions.
then just go buy the sd400 and you won't be sorry

What's confusing is that only 2 people voted for "compact size". Although I guess 5MP ain't too shabby for daily use.

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Optical Zoom / Megapixels / Size - ???

What feature is more important to you?

Optical Zoom / Megapixels / Size - ???